Everything? pretty sure it was just one or 2 things?

The mount costs gems because ZOS' data told them that players have too many gems, so they need to offer nice stuff for lots of gems to get those gems out of player's pockets so they'll buy more crates again. Also, they need to cut down on the free crown crates, so players buy more crates.

And if some players don't have the gems, and want to buy the mount anyway, and buy crown crates in order to get gems, this is a bonus.

And Crown gems and Crown Crates exist because ZOS makes more profits making you gamble for what you want than by listing all the items in the Crown Store.

Yea, it's frustrating for the consumer, but at least ZOS profits, right?

(I don't buy Crown Crates, ever. Even if we never get another free one.)

Hyperbole is not a good way to make a point.

It's very easy to dismiss your complaint by saying not everything costs gems - in fact there's only been a few items (3 I think) which were only available for gems. Even the other crate items don't have to cost gems, you could get them as a drop from the crates.

But that does no one any good - you get a useless answer which I assume you already knew and then your complaint looks like a misunderstanding which everyone else (including ZOS) can safely ignore.

It would be better to explain why you're unhappy with some items only being available for gems and that you'd be very happy to buy them directly if that was possible.

I think that the OP has a fair point, however he hasn't really elaborated on it enough. A better question would be to ask why so much potential content is being shunted into crown crates and the crown store in a game where a player can pay a subscription fee.

Mounts, houses and cosmetic rewards have been the lifeblood of MMO's since their inception, they're what entices players to keep on playing over the long term and keeps them engaged with the content on offer. More rewards means longer spent playing the game itself, which in turn then increases the value of the game in the customer's eyes because they feel they've gotten their money's worth from the title.

When a company starts putting more and more reward incentives behind RMT paywalls and gambling boxes, the game is left a shallower experience because there are no more 'big' rewards to earn by actually playing the game. Worse still, when the rewards placed behind these paywalls are clearly items that in any other MMO would be the long term rewards players would remain engaged to attain (the radiant apex lizard mounts, for example) it devalues the title in the customer's eyes, because they see that even if they engage with the game and pay a subscription fee they will not get the full experience without shelling out additional money.

Right now Zenimax and Bethesda are treading a very fine line, because after years of choosing to strip content from in game events and DLC/Expansion packs to place onto the crown store they feel confident enough to strip more and more away from their new offerings to sell at quite frankly exorbitant prices, and in very predatory manners that target specifically vulnerable problem groups such as gambling addicts.

Gems are a symptom of the problem ESO faces. Lessening the amount of items bought exclusively with gems won't help; only the full removal of the crown crate system and an extreme pruning of the crown store will.

I used to be bitter like you but then I discovered that I can buy crowns through gold.